FB Messenger: Not 'appening enough?

Facebook's messaging service has now been shifted to a dedicated application. The author looks at why this move has got mixed reactions from users

It's official. Facebook's messaging service has now been phased out from its main app to a stand-alone app - Facebook Messenger. Users will now have to install a separate application on their smartphones and other devices to view and reply to messages from their friends. You can still log on to Facebook through a computer and chat with your friends, but this recent shift to the messenger has received a lot of poor reviews.

Privacy concerns?
First things first, Facebook Messenger is not a new entity. It was launched back in August 2011 and until now users could opt to install the app or access their chat through the main Facebook app. It was only in April this year that the social networking giant announced the move to a separate app. Now to the 'privacy issues': When users (Android) are about to install the app from the Play Store, they are prompted with the Android app permissions. Some of them include finding accounts on your device, reading your contact card and call log, editing, reading and receiving your SMSes, using your microphone, accessing your storage and so on. In the iOS version of the messenger, the app asks for permissions only when a feature is used for the first time. These vast numbers of permissions needed on the Android app have received a lot of flak - users and critics alike. Some users have questioned the need for the app to access their contacts list. Another feature that has provoked the ire of users is the 'location' option - new messages show your location by default. Damandeep Soni, business development head for Line in India, says that user privacy is of utmost importance. "In most instant messaging apps, a person can add another user without his or her consent. The first important level of privacy is that both the parties should be willing to communicate. The second level is data privacy. If two users are talking, then it is important to ensure that a third party is not intruding and listening to their conversation. It ultimately comes down to your data policy." Soni also believes that the importance given to 'privacy' varies in every app. "The instant messaging category is huge. Every application has a stance since they all provide different features. Messaging is also rapidly emerging as a content platform. The mobile phone was essentially invented to communicate. But people are building more services on top of that now."

What users think

The user reviews have been mixed. While some have welcomed the idea of using a separate app to stay connected with their Facebook friends, many others are not sure about the whole idea. Nikita Arora, a mediaperson, believes she won't install the messenger on her iOS device. "Why do we even need a separate messenger app when the chat option on the Facebook app works just fine? The messenger may be faster and efficient to send messages. But why would a user take the hassle of switching apps every now and then?" says Arora. On the Play Store, the messenger has an average rating of four stars, with 917,690 users giving the app a one-star rating so far.

(ALSO READ: Why I trashed the Facebook app (and you should too)

How the messenger performed
We tried installing the Facebook Messenger on a Nexus 5. Yes, the permissions tab did pop up in the Play Store. Once it's up and running, the app shows who all are using the messenger and who is on the Facebook app. On a device as strong and fast as the Nexus 5, the messenger was slow at times. Despite having a lot of variety, the emoticons also took time to load. The user interface (UI) is pretty good. In one odd instance, a chat shortcut (that looks like an orb with display picture of your contact) overlapped an incoming phone call. We had to first shut the shortcut and then take the call.

'Stop freaking out'
While some sections of the media and users have panned the Facebook Messenger, a few critics have made pertinent points in the app's defence. A research report from Veracode has given a logical explanation behind the entire uproar. Veracode compared 49 of the 50 social apps on the Play Store to see how many of them needed the same permissions requested in the Facebook Messenger app. The results: "67 per cent of the other popular social apps also require the read contacts permission. 47 per cent of them require the camera permission." The report also mentioned how "people love to pick on Facebook because of their past privacy UI transgressions" and asked users - in simple terms - "to stop freaking out".

Here to stay
In all fairness, I think one Facebook application was more than enough. One of the beauties of using the Facebook app was that all the features were under one hub. You could check status updates, news feed along with your messages - until the messenger came calling. While most of the permissions needed on the messenger do make sense, users are seemingly worried about how and when the app can use them. Facebook's recent acquisition of WhatsApp, and now this, shows that it is keen to leave a mark in the instant-messaging space as well. So love it or loathe it, it seems the Facebook Messenger is here to stay.